They smile in your face
The following is the letter to the editors published in the June 14 Dispatch/Argus from David Nipper, of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2371.
I am a concerned citizen of the state of Illinois. I see where the politicians and the governor agreed to balance the budget with the pension money of the state workers. This is a bad idea.Perhaps this had something to do with Jacobs' frustration in his statements after taking this vote. Sounds like they all got rolled, which sometimes is unavoidable, but as Nipper says, in this case, it sounds like the politicians just couldn't resist the urge to tell people what they wanted to hear before being truly committed to the position.
We already know how the state pays its bills -- always behind, always promising. Will they come after my pension plan next? Maybe yours? The way Social Security is now, my pension is critical to my survival when I'm older. This is scary.
The purpose of this letter is to let everyone know what fibbers our state representatives are. To put it nicely:
A few weeks ago, we rallied at a union hall in East Moline to protest this plan. The dishonorable Sen. Mike Jacobs, Rep. Pat Verschoore, and Rep. Mike Boland were there among others. They were there to state their opinion on this issue.
They all talked so sweetly to us, "Oh, we would never, ever vote for taking state pension money to balance the budget." Each one got up and made a speech, looking us in the eye and lying through their teeth. Each one of them voted "yes" to the budget plan. Is my pension plan in their sights for next year? I'm talking a matter of weeks that they changed their values, their ideas, and flip-flopped on this issue.
They could have said, "We are still studying this plan, this issue. We do not know yet what we will do." But no, they told us what we wanted to hear and then stabbed us in the back. I believe they should be held accountable.
I shook hands with Jacobs and Verschoore and thanked them for their stand on this issue. They smiled right back at me knowing they were lying to us. It makes me sick.
I do not pretend to be as smart as these guys. They know the issues better than me, no doubt, but I did not just fall out of the turnip truck, either. I know a fibber when I hear one, and I heard three that day of our rally.
People, unite and don't forget come election time. Vote these three out before they come after your pension plan next. Instead of cutting perks, cutting spending and cutting back on pork projects at this time.
These three are Democrats, but now let's call them "Demoliars." At least with Republicans, we already know they are out to screw the working guy. They don't pretend to be our friends. With these three, sure, smile and shake their hands, but don't believe what they say and don't turn your back on them.
Remember, this is not a random attack, but a true story. Maybe this is how they work in Springfield, but here in the Q.C., we don't like being lied to.
If this is the best that the Q-C area has to offer, God help all of us. We will need it.
But what likely happened is that the pols WERE committed to the position when they spoke to the union, it's just that the budget frenzy is wild, wooly, and pretty crazy when it goes down to the wire. They likely found themselves between a rock and a hard place, having to hold their noses and voting for the budget despite their misgivings. I would speculate that in this case, the larger interests of preventing Republicans from gaining control over the buget probably trumped their committment to AFSCME.
Let's hope that the pols can have a heart to heart with AFSCME and explain honestly why they found themselves voting against the interests of people they'd pledged to support. Honesty, though sometimes painful, is the best policy, even for politicians. But methinks we won't hear the politicians crowing about this "achievement" any time soon.
**Addendum Knowledgable commenter "Political Wind" provides information which throws Mr. Nipper's letter into a different light. He reports that the union position was in favor of the budget agreement, not against. Head Usher also provides a direct quote from the an AFCSME web page which directly contradicts Mr. Nipper's assertions. See comments below.
posted by The Inside Dope @ 6/14/2005
5 comments
5 Comments:
Aha.... as is often the case, it appears that with this, things aren't exactly what they appear to be.
Apology for WHAT???!!!
Reprinting a letter to the editor? Get real.
I allowed in my comments that this was likely hard to avoid. And after reading PoliticalWinds comment, I added an addendum pointing out that there were problems with Nipper's assertions.
Politicalwind and yourself have shown how Nipper was in error.
That's how things work.
I have nothing whatsoever to apologize for.
This is a very interesting topic, and the comments are great.
High has a good point. While it's fine to resent appointments, the fact remains that the rules as they stand were followed.
Perhaps the energy spent in dissing those in office for having been appointed would be more honestly and effectively spent trying to change the system for making those appointments.
But of course, that may be a real pipe dream, as only the insiders and high party officials could effect any meaningful changes there, and what are the chances of that happening?
It's a touchy issue though. Certainly the politicians can't be personally blamed for having been appointed. And they have nothing to do with the way the system for appointing officials is currently set up. It certainly isn't their "fault", so to speak, and the mere fact that they were appointed should have no bearing on how well they do their jobs. Their performance in office should trump how they got there.
I do believe though that opponents will use the fact that politicians were appointed as an issue. While unfair on one level, in politics using resentment over this, and the suggestion that politicians didn't "earn" their position is fair game. Jacobs and Vershoore shouldn't be surprised at this and should be prepared to counter it.
High, you've hit the nail on the head. "Voter apathy", for lack of a better word for it, is the underlying phenomena of all that's going wrong in politics.
Yes, money has completely perverted the system. Yes, the field that used to be aptly called "show business for ugly people", politics, has now morphed into almost pure showbusiness, with telegenic pretty boys and girls being run for office over long-time activists and experieced candidates. The PR game is getting more sophisticated, more coordinated, and the tactics are more and more cynical in manipulating the public.
But that has always been the huge sticking point in my mind. I've been very bothered for years by the fact that it's an accepted, and often proven fact that the candidate with the most money wins. Why?
This must show that the public is easily led. Why else would an empty suit dumbass with tons of money be able to beat an experienced and capable candidate? The only conclusion is that people actually believe the tripe they're told and shown, and the person that can afford to show it to them and tell it to them the most, wins.
This begs the question, are people really just dumbass lemmings? Is it really that easy to lead the public around by the nose?
The answer, obviously and very sadly is, yes.
But, while a lot of the people actually are simple-minded, unsophisticated morons, the fact remains as High put so well, that when the wolf is at the door, staying politically aware or even giving a damn about it ends up way down on the priority list.
People are often living in a state of constant stress, both over work, kids, and the constant worry of how the bills are going to get paid and just praying that nothing bad happens, such as a loss of a job or health problems.
People are up against it. And the Republicans are working like little beavers to make sure they can get no releif, slashing the safty net, making it near impossible to file bankruptcy and get debts forgiven, and many other measures which they've slipped in under the radar. There definitely is class warfare going on in this country. And it's a war by the rich against the middle class!
So, people can be forgiven if they're not willing or able to do the work it takes to become informed citizens. And all the noise and static from campaigns and the hapless media doesn't make it any easier. One has to really work to try to seek out sources of the truth these days, as there is a tsunami of noise, spin, PR, and sheer B.S. out there that rages like a storm. Getting to the truth takes a lot of work.
So, how do we turn the tide? How do we ensure that the public is provided with facts and the truth?
One way would be to expand and provide more funding for quality non-commercial public media, such as NPR and PBS.
But the Republicans have vowed to destroy that last bastion of unbiased news, and are in the process of controlling the editorial content to make sure that the conservative story line gets more play.
The Public is getting whacked, and the right is making sure that it is increasingly hard for them to get any viewpoints that aren't the approved right wing line.
First, we get rid of the bastards... then.......???
Speaking for myself, I have no freaking clue who Smiddy or Hugetoon are, other than joke candidates invented by HeadGusher.
And Toni McCombie (Why not Hootie McBooty?) is some bubble-headed hottie that seems to be viable only in the mind of HeadGusher.
What's up?
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